Ambassador Peters spent more than 30 years as a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State. She began her career as a vice-consul in Frankfurt, Germany in 1975. A senior diplomat, fluent in six foreign languages, Ambassador Peters has also served in Sofia, Bulgaria, as deputy chief of mission; in Moscow as economic counselor; and in Mandalay as principal officer.

From 1988 to 1990, Ambassador Peters was the deputy director of the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh Affairs in the State Department.

From 1993 to 1994, Ambassador Peters served as deputy assistant secretary of state with oversight responsibility for U.S. relations with 19 Western European countries and Canada. In this capacity she acted as the U.S. chair of the U.S. – Canada military coordination body, the Permanent Joint Board on Defense.

From 1995 to 1997, Ambassador Peters served in the White House as Director for European and Canadian Affairs at the National Security Council. Among other portfolios in this position, Ambassador Peters worked on the diplomatic and security aspects of the search for peace in Northern Ireland. Between 1997 and 2000, she was the deputy chief of mission at the United States Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, responsible for the management of the embassy and supervision of the six U.S. consulates general in Canada.